Wake student assignment committee meets Tuesday

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Raleigh, N.C. — The committee tasked with realigning Wake County's more than 140,000 public school students meets Tuesday at 11:30 a.m. at the school district administration building at 3600 Wake Forest Road in Raleigh.

Board of Education member John Tedesco heads the 12-person Student Assignment Committee and has been the loudest advocate for the board's move away from a long-standing policy of student assignment to balance socio-economic status. Tedesco voted with the board majority earlier this year to change that policy to focus instead on geography, creating community-base schools.

The committee developed four options for geographical student assignment in August and has been soliciting public comment ever since.

During the meeting on Tuesday, committee members will discuss that feedback and review achievement and magnet data related to the proposed school "zones."

Board Chairman Ron Margiotta said he is looking forward to the committee continuing its work on the proposed model.

"The committee's work is far from being finished," he said. "The selection of the high school attendance zone model simply provides a starting point for review, analysis and public comment. It is still very early in the process, and changes will be made based on feedback and discussion."

FedUpAmericanSep 28, 2010

Seems to me that schools with a large population of poor children would need more resources so that specialized programs and teachers/coaches/admin staff (who would cherish the challenges associated with a large poverty base school) with a more suitable skill set could be hired. In other words... not necessarily more money, but smarter resource allocation designed to address the specific needs a "poor" child population will need. For me though... children must buy into their education... I know... a seemingly simple statement that requires so much from so many people, students included, to reach fruition.

leafanSep 28, 2010

"the schools benefited from not having too many disadvantaged kids assigned to a school."

What is "too many"?

FedUpAmericanSep 28, 2010

cbax3030...you go on to say that "Even poor people don't want to be around other poor people, so why should I?"Sounds like you support socioeconomic segregation in that no poor people should be allowed in your child's school? Please clarify...Also.. cbax3030... you go on to say "Let's stop catering to the bottom of the ladder in education." This statement is truly a contradiction in that in order to be successful in this life, one needs a solid education...and since you hate being around poor people so much, perhaps you should advocate for the poor child's education... so your children won't have to be around poor people when they become adults... But seriously... in this day and age... poverty and education do not necessarily go hand in hand. You see cbax3030... the problem isn't with poverty, but rather how resources are allocated to our schools. Perhaps you should educate yourself on the issues facing resource allocation rather than blaming the poor! NC Reader has the right idea.

musthavecoffeeSep 28, 2010

BTW, every parent in NC has the right to send their children to whatever school they want. You just have to provide the transportation. However, someone said people want choices. Every school in the state is quite a variety of choices, I'd say.

musthavecoffeeSep 28, 2010

I would be reluctant to leave a job at any school in Wake County, no matter the misfortunes. Most educators do not have three or four back-up teaching jobs lined up, so it is not likely that most teachers will leave a school because of the achievement of the students. While teachers care about the students and want to see them succeed, having a job in this economy is pretty important. Being a teacher is a job, a career; why would anybody walk away from it when the unemployment rate doesn't look so great?

cbax3030Sep 28, 2010

I guess to people like dlnorri a 40% graduation rate is considered "working well"

I would wager they have never been exposed to anything other than wake county schools and have no idea what stability and feeling of community come with neighborhood schools. So much for your diversity.

YourMomSep 28, 2010

cbax3030 - that was bold and very honest. we need more of that around here.

i know this might sound like old news and my opinion may be very naive about it, but wth happened to the lottery fixing our school's problems? we should have been able to build many more schools and offer many more resources at this point.

cbax3030Sep 28, 2010

It's fine with me if a school is a little farther away, just stop bussing in kids from the ghetto and stop trying to bus my child into the ghetto. There I said it. Even poor people don't want to be around other poor people, so why should I? Let's stop catering to the bottom of the ladder in education.

NC ReaderSep 28, 2010

Maybe there are some teachers who'd go to a high-poverty school if the school board threw more money into those schools and paid them higher salaries. However, the burnout rate in schools with far greater needs and less parental support is likely to be high. I know a lot of people (teachers, doctors, lawyers, businesspeople) who left higher-paying jobs for lower-paying ones, because they decided that a less-stressful life was worth the lower salary. Well, I guess the school board will get to find out. This time they will be the ones going to the public, asking for more money for the schools.

theartistformerlyknownasspeedySep 28, 2010

Mom: since they can't possibly review your input in the next 60 minutes, perhaps wait until they finish the meeting, adjust the plan and ask for comments again?